My favorite spoon with a horsey on it:
The gun and load the .45 ACP was designed to emulate; the great grandaddy of them all, the .45 Colt. Third generation Peacemaker, used as an almost daily carry gun for about 15 years now (replacing a too valuable first generation). Carried while backpacking, hiking, fishing, and hunting. It's killed two decent mulies and one realy nice pronghorn; I suspect it might do rather well on your average thug, too.
Standard load(s) consist of the RCBS .45-255K cast from wheel weights and weighing about 265 grains, lubed with my home-made lube, and loaded over either 17 grains of 2400 or 40 grains of Goex FFFg, both lit with a CCI 350 magnum primer. Either load just cracks 900 fps and will shoot lengthwise through a mature mulie buck. We don't need no stinkin' autos 'round here... (I must confess I do have a GI spec Springfield 1911, though.)